Thursday, 20 February 2014

Tear gas welcomes chancellor Ssebuwufu to Kyambogo varsity

A student protests after he was arrested by police at Kyambogo University campus yesterday.

KAMPALA- Riot police was yesterday prompted to
fire tear gas to clear way for the new Kyambogo University Chancellor,
Prof John Ssebuwufu, to attend his swearing in ceremony as rowdy
students blocked the entrance to the university main building.

The function, which was scheduled to start at 9am ,
started an hour late as police fought running battles with students to
clear the way.

The angry students were protesting delayed release
of the final graduation list yet many claim they cleared all academic
and financial requirements to enable them graduate.

Police had to put a security cordon around the
venue where the function took place to keep the students at bay. Jinja
Road police commander Wesley Nganizi said they deployed at the
university on the request of the administration to ensure all ceremonies
between Wednesday and Friday go on smoothly.

Alupo’s disappointmentIn the
middle of the fracas, Education minister Jessica Alupo arrived to
preside over the installation function and expressed shock at what she
saw and heard about Kyambogo. She urged the university management to
bring their house to order.

“I didn’t expect to get this reception in an
institution of higher learning. What is wrong here? I thought you, the
officials are on top of the situation.” she said as unidentified
students whom police had bundled on pick up shouted: “Madam we are not
graduating. Those officials there ‘chewed’ our money.”

At least 6,315 students are expected to graduate
between today and tomorrow but many were still skeptical by press time
whether they will graduate because the final graduation list was not yet
out.

Ms Alupo described Prof Ssebuwufu as ‘a sent messiah’.“I
can bear witness that Ssebuwufu is a messiah to this university. I know
you (Ssebuwufu) as a man of integrity, humility and when you were vice
chancellor at Makerere, I was a student there but I didn’t hear of or
see cases of students missing on the graduation list or staff strikes.”

Prof Ssebuwufu promised to serve diligently.“I
am not new in Kyambogo, the current problems were part and partial of
the institution even when I was still here as a principal but I am sure
with God, we shall sail through,” Prof Ssebuwufu said.

The university council chairperson, Prof John
Okedi, downplayed the students’ claims, saying those complaining were
undisciplined students, who were either irregularly admitted to the
university or misused their tuition fees. He denied reports that some officials had swindled students’ tuition fees.